Belig listened intently to what Thera had said and thought.  To win, you must know how to lose? I know that one can learn much more from a loss than a win, but the lost may also cost you your life...  Belig caught the water skin and kept pondering over the conundrum while taking a good long drink.  He thought hard enough that he couldn't feel the pain of being hit so many times through the blanket of his thought process as each bit of information he had learned through the exchange went through his head.

In order to survive, one must be able to retreat... but what of your foe? Would not a truly malicious foe follow? To torment or destroy the weakened soldier?  Belig looked down at his lathe and his shield, both were riddled with indentations and splinters. The shield even split a little on the side.  A retreat maybe a loss, but its a worthy move... Belig's mind was calming now and his logical thinking that his mother had drilled into him was showing more and more.

"A retreat is a worthy move for two reasons. One is the defense of your own life, or the life of others. The second is the protection of the mission. It matters not if a foe follows, for a retreat is necessary in the here and now. to fight another day is a chance to complete the mission."  Belig blinked as he realized that he had thought out loud.

As soon as Thera moved, Belig could tell that she was indeed toying with him, and giving him chances to strike back. Focus, everyone has a weakness. It just takes time to figure out what that is.  Belig tightened up his guard and got some distance from Thera, observing the moving blade that was in the form of Creeper embraces the Oaks. Beligs eyes took in information and processed it. Loose handed grip that can be immediately tightened or changed.  blade changing directions every two beats.

Belig moved forward, marching as though in a line of warriors alongside him. he then quickly thrusted his practice sword forward three times at the head, chest, and pelvis. Thera parried easily and moved forward with a quick strike towards Belig's head. Belig moved as fast as he could, and felt the practice sword graze his uniform as he extended his left arm forward to bring the edge of the shield up into Thera's gut. Thera managed to slip by the attack but was grazed on the side as she brought down the practice sword downwards to smack Belig's back. Belig felt a good sting as thera's blade caught him as he rolled forward into a guard stance. Focusing his attention on blocking thera's next two attacks with his shield, he quickly regained his footing. Belig saw an incoming thrust and parried it with his blade, pushing forwards with the swords still touching as he forced Thera's blade over his shoulder. Thera's eyes widened in surprise a bit and quickly jumped back to avoid belig's shield from crashing into her.

Belig took this chance to press forward as he continued with an onslaught of thrusts and slashes. Thera blocked and parried easily and countered with her own strikes that constantly made contact with Beligs legs and arms. In the flurry Belig continued to advance, pressing forward and never giving a step. Thera's lathe hammered away at both shield and practice sword. Each throwing Belig a bit off balance or changing the tempo of the exchange. Belig continued pressing forward though, not thinking but running off the instinct that he watched his father and brother instill in him and his brothers since childhood. Thera's blade started getting faster and faster, and Belig had to maneuver his shield several times to turn potentially debilitating blows into just a bump or a graze. Belig's pulse raced and roared in his ears as his heart beat faster with each blow

Belig finally burst forward into a combative roll as Thera moved with a sideswipe for his head. As her blade flew above him, he rolled on his back and locked his legs around Thera's, trapping them in a pincer like hold that sent her stumbling backwards. as she fell the lock brought in some leverage to shift Belig's weight upwards and his body asceneded like some fun house lever reset itself. as he came upwards he brought his blade into a slash aimed at Thera's right shoulder moving down to her hips. His hit connected lightly with Thera's shoulder as she shifted the leverage that Belig was using to get upwards, and threw him head over heels past her head and spinning in the dirt. She then quickly got up and was on Belig in nearly the blink of an eye. Five blows rained down on Belig's body as her hits connected with almost bone shattering force. Belig back peddled as fast as he could and tried to parry and block. Each time the lathe connected with his shield he could feel the shock in his sword arm, and his sword was thrown wildly and had almost no effect parrying the blows. Belig took each hit with a grunt and then tried to return some of the blows. most of which was no where near close to his target, but helped him get back into pace. Soon he was parrying and sidestepping in time with Thera. Still taking hits but less than before.

Belig dodged a thrust past his shield and moved forward before Thera could bring the blade back toward her. He quickly brought up his knee, aiming for the thigh as her lathe changed directions to hit his side three times. His knee connected with Thera's thigh and sent her stumbling back a bit, but Belig pressed the advantage and spun into a rear kick, using his sword and shield as a counter weight to make him spin faster and harder. Thera grunted a bit as she caught the kick with her left arm and brought the lathe down hard on Belig's back. She did this a couple more times before Belig twisted and managed to pull his foot free. Panting he stumbled back a few paces, bringing his shield up into a heavy guard position as he tried to catch his breath.

(OOC: Your turn, I got to have a nice chunk of fun, but now it's time for you to show me how you really fight. Beligs not going to submit, he's made that promise to himself and he'd rather run himself into the ground first. His stamina is weakening but it's still a slow process.)

I'm game. Belig could use a few more tricks.

Belig looked at Thera with a puzzled look as she made her statement and dropped into a relaxed guard stance. She's going to toy with me. I'll show her I am no easy prey. Belig assumed a strong offensive guard stance, clearing his mind except for the image of a river. He relaxed his mind, and loosened up his body. Eyes intent Belig began to circle Thera.

I must give it my all, for that is what my opponent deserves. I will strike her down like all foes before me, and I will win. Belig tightened up his grip on his practice broadsword, and begun analyzing Thera's pose and stance.  Loose one hand guard with a two handed sword. Light weight and nimble on her feet. Confident.  Belig finally made a judgment call and brought his shield up tight as he charged forward, bringing his practice blade upwards in a deadly arc on Thera's left side.

so it begins.

The hair on the back of Beligs neck rose as he saw the mistress of trainee's cross the courtyard. He could tell by her stride that she was in a light mood but had a deadly grace that made her seem to be able to strike anywhere.

“Belig, so glad you were brave enough to sign up for this with me.” Clapping him on the back she led him over to the edge of the sparing ring. “Tell me trainee. What do you think it takes to survive in battle?”

Belig was surprised at the direct question and then pondered the question as he walked into the ring.

"Ma'am to survive in battle one must have three primary things. First they must have a strong body, one to endure the trials of being hit, and being able to continuously attack. The second thing for survival one must have is a clear mind. A distracted mind can lead to destruction as your thoughts race to cloud your judgment at the wrong moment. The final thing that a person must have is the will to win.  There are people who go into combat who just try not to die, those people will not take the necessary chances to come out alive. A will to win gives a person the will to do their all, and that gives the warrior a mindset to take the chances needed to survive."

Belig tugged at his shield straps again, waiting for a sudden attack if the mistress of trainees decides to jump right in. He waited to hear what she had to say about what his brother had taught him.

Belig got up from his bunk in the barracks and stretched big as he got dressed. After donning his trainee uniform he hefted his round shield and walked out the door into the yards. It was about an hour before dawn but Belig put on the heavy weight vest and iron rod that he used for a sword weight. He ran his normal five miles and swam about two miles up river. When he got back he removed the weights and picked up his practice broadsword. Using shield and sword he went through every motion and technique he had learned from kynwric, and a few moves he had come up with on his own. When Belig was finished it was about two hours after dawn. Belig made his way towards the mess hall and ate quickly and in silence as was his habit. After he finished he went out into the training yard to meet with his teacher for the day.

Survival class huh? a requirement for all trainees but I'm the only one signed up. Belig made his way to the arranged meeting place and waited for his teacher to arrive.

Cool, that would be awesome Eqwina. I'll set up a thread now. Thread name will be, "survival! the trials of combat."

Anyone care to help me with this requirement for going from WS 3 to WS 4? and maybe some other trainee's would like to jump in on this as well? A battle between teachers and trainees maybe... Thoughts?

Link: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,42286.12.html

Training type: swordsmanship training

thread name: To hold a sword yet again. (completed)

WS upgrade: from WS 2 to WS 3.

"sir yes sir!" Belig snapped a smart salute and bowed out of the training area.

OOC: thanks Kynwric.

Belig listened intently to Kynwric's speech and nodded along with the points made. It did indeed make sense to him what each word meant.

"no sir I have no questions. Is that the end of our training session?"

Belig thought over the question, and turned the fight over right along with it. thinking hard and remembering every detail. the smooth movements of the warder, and the keen reaction time.

"To begin with sir, Your speed was unprecedented in our fight, you had at least a two fold lead in reaction time and time to close distance, which worked in sync with your smooth one motion style as compared to my two step block and strike that I'm somewhat familiar with.

the second reason why i failed, was directly involved with my motions, you could read my movements before i was thinking of them, and thus acted accordingly. I moved like a bull in the porcelian shop and was by far too predictable.

The third reason why i lost has to do somewhat with the skill gap in terms of knowledge. your repertoire of techniques and skills outnumbers my own, and even with me attempting to copy your moves, you had a perfect counter for every one and a perfect counter not only blocks, but also attacks quickly and efficiently without gaps in one fluid motion. I on the other hand, have simple blocks and parries at my knowledge disposal, and thus was at a disadvantage."

Belig swallowed after his explanation, his throat was dry after the beating he took and giving such a long answer. He hoped he was right.

Belig saw a change in kynwric, his defense was up and he looked like he was ready to face a trolloc. "I thank you for this honor sir. I look forward to learning the hard way."  Belig dropped into a defensive posture and began circling kynwric, looking for an opening in his defense. Rule one of combat, never underestimate your opponent, rule two: be aware of what your opponent is aware of so one can detect your foe's distraction, rule three of combat: commit to movement, without commitment you are weak and are bound to fail.

Belig saw a small opening in Kynwric's defense, between his shield and body. Belig continued circling as Kynwric stared back, Belig suddenly changed directions and moved in with a stab in the gap, closing distance as quick as he could. Kynwric reacted and stepped back with his left foot closing the gap in the defense, and Beligs practice sword glanced off the well made shield. Kynwric continued to slide his left foot back as Belig continued to move forward and brought the sword down on his back. Pain erupted between Beligs shoulders as he continued forward a few paces and turned about to see kynwric moving in on him. Belig countered a sideswipe with his shield and fell back a few paces.

He's fast, very fast. Belig brought up his guard and replayed the whole move in his mind. He used my momentum in order to get behind my guard and deflect the blow in one motion... One motion?

Belig moved in again closing the distance and brought his practice sword in a upward raising arc to strike at the left knee, kynwric again stepped back and dodged the blow and brought his sword about for a shot at the chest. Belig sidestepped and caught the sword square on the shield as he struck out with a stab at kynwric's chest. Kynwric backed just out of the swords reached and charged with his shield towards Belig's middle. Blood and ashes! Belig side stepped and brought the edge of his shield behind kynwrics as Belig brought his sword up from behind. Kynwric got a stab in and continued forward avoiding Belig's strike. Belig could feel the pain in his gut as kynwric turned about and began moving in with an offensive stance.

He used his momentum to avoid the strike while getting in a kill shot of his own... again it's one motion but it's smoother than me trying to copy him... Beilg dropped into a defensive stance and readied himself for kynwric's oncoming attack. Belig barely caught kynwrics shield with his own and attempted to sidestep the oncoming blow from his now occupied shield arm. Kynwrics practice sword barely missed as Belig took a swing to the back of Kynwric's head. Kynwric ducked and forced his shield to force Beligs shield to move upwards as kynwric made a side swipe to the side of Belig's left knee. Pain exploded up Belig's leg as he backed up to gather his bearings.

He dodges almost every move instead of blocking with either shield or sword, using both as pure offensive weapons. He uses his opponent's momentum and lack of speed against him. Is this how warders truly fight?? Kynwric patiently waited in a lax defensive posture as Belig turned the last exchange over in his head. Belig took up an offensive stance and moved forward slowly. If he dodges most of the time, how's his block? Belig moved forward bringing the practice sword downward in a vertical slash in line with kynwric's head. Kynwric sidestepped to Belig's right, and Belig changed the direction of the swing to be in line with kynwric's head in a sideways motion. Kynwric took a step back as the sword whistled by his face, and countered with a side slash of his own, aiming for Belig's shield arm. Belig charged forward with his shield, closing the distance between him and Kynwric, and caught the sword along the shield's edge. Belig pressed forward and crashed his shield into kynwrics and brought his sword into another upward arc. Kynwric jumped backwards just as Belig's sword grazed his leg and made a instant counter attack, bringing his sword into a swift three hit combo on Belig's side. Pain reached it's peak in Belig's side as kwnwric brought his sword up to hit the back of Belig's sword arm, then moved downward to strike the side of the knee and turned about to strike a square crack on Beligs back.

What the... Blood and ashes what in the light happened? Belig's sword fell from his hand as kynwric brought his sword level with the side of belig's neck. It's over... He's way out of my league. but I learned quite a bit.

"I submit sir. I submit!"

Belig felt the welt at the base of his neck. Ouch! blood and ashes that hurt! Belig looked at kynwric and felt particularly small at his glower. He certainly is not happy... but I got a bigger chunk of a lesson than running drills. Belig got up and dusted himself off, feeling the pain shoot up his arm as he moved it. Belig got into a ready stance and looked at Kynwric.

"That is the counter for a shield charge yes? Interesting. I apologize for the rudeness I have shown, but I thought a bit of a change up would be beneficial. I'm ready for any punishment you see fit."

Belig dropped into his ready stance again, this time in a more forward stance with his shield facing Kynwric.  He stepped forward with his left foot as he swung his sword backhanded, then threw the foot out backwards reversing his direction, bringing the slash whistleing through the air as he pivitoed on his right foot, sending the slash for the oppisite side of the head. Kynwric blocked the blow and Belig repeated the drill for a couple of hours until a stray thought came to mind.

These drills are good and all but I should see what would happen if I pressed the attack.

Belig readied himself again, watching and ready to observe the teacher's reaction. He went through his form again but this time when kynwric blocked, Belig forced forward off the ball of his right foot like a spring and shoved his shield towards Kynwric's unguarded chest. Let's see how he reacts...

Belig nodded and dropped into a ready stance. He launched forward toe to heel like Kynwric showed him earlier and swung the practice sword with all of his might towards the mans temple.

(OOC: I'll be in and out of DM for the next week due to medical reasons. If i dont reply its not because i abbandoned the thread.)

Belig observed Kynwric intently as he demonstrated balance, making mental notes and referencing every detail to memory. I see. my center of balance needs to be more to the right to help compensate for the shield weight. and slightly more on the heel to maintain a firm base. Belig quickly copied Kynwric, slightly adjusting his position to the back of his heels. It felt more stable and felt as though he could move anywhere that the situation could dictate. He looked up at Kynwric, "So the weight and balance should be more like this?"

"Do you intend to use that as a weapon or chop wood with it?" said the man coming up to Belig.

Belig looked at the man and took him in in one look before turning and saluting. "Sir, I apologize for my lack of order in my sword movements. It has been quite some time since I had a sword in hand and I fear that I may have forgotten the forms."  Belig looked at the mans eyes and continued on. "Sir, if I may ask what is your name?"

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,42286.0.html

Here be the link Kynwric. thanks

Belig walked out into the warder yards with his shield in hand. The stout wooden round shield had been crafted in the small time he had in between classes. Belig walked over to the rack of training swords and picked one up the size of a moderate longsword. It felt by far too light than what should be there. A month's worth of training under segewick will do that to i guess. In truth, Belig was probably two or three times as strong as he had coming to the tower. Belig began swinging the longsword in choppy motions and slurred motions. Burn me! I knew i was on the road too long. I've forgotten the forms Brother taught me.

Belig stared intently on the practice sword, willing it with his mind to go through the motions he was taught. Parting of the silk Belig moved in a unbalanced swing of the practice sword with his shield being the only thing keeping him from falling on his face.

Can one of you folks teach me some basic sword usage for my WS 3 requirement?

thread name: getting started from the bottom up.(complete)

training type: physical

requirement for WS of 2 completed

Link: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,41588.12.html

Belig jumped into the water, or rather he fell in. His legs were not cooperating still after his bought of jumping. As the cool water touched his legs he felt the soothing cold tighten up his muscles as they contracted to preserve heat. He held his iron rods tightly with him and begun to swing each against the current in a alternating patter. right, left, right, left, and again, and again, and again. He did this until ordered to stop and then began to swim forward as fast as he could. I either stop swimming, or swim as fast as i can. there is no in between, Belig thought to himself. swimming hard he kept a good pace with Llewelyn, Llewelyn had stopped only a bit before Belig was forced to, gaining only about 10 yards more. Belig swam to a shallower area and then latched to the bottom of the river using the iron rods, leaving Belig in the middle of the river stretched out straight like a board.

Belig went through each exercise that sandre ordered without complaint. The push ups and sit ups were natural to him as he did 100 each night before bed and 100 after he wakes. The jumping exercise caught him a bit off guard though. Jumping wasn't a exercise the Belig often, mainly because a shield man doesn't jump because the shield would throw them off balance.

Bloody blazes! my legs are killing me... thought Belig as the training continued. Suddenly as though the thought beckoned misfortune, Belig lost focus on his balancing act between the rod for his shield and the one for his sword and landed hard on his left foot throwing him off balance, and naturally he fell with a loud "OOMPH!" He could tell Sandre was chuckling at his mistake. Belig got back up without needing help, but he still felt embarrassed at the fact he fell. Light, I am out of shape. Belig focused and completed the remaining jumping required and then joined Llewelyn by the river for a drink.

"You did surprisingly well considering it's your first time in those weights. See how keeping the weights tight to the body help?"

"So, if I understood it right, those are made in Shienar ?" Llewelyn asked Belig pointing at the iron weighs "And I can see you've already trained with those ! What are you ? A son of soldier ? Wouldn't be surprising from a Shienarian..."

Belig smiled a bit and nodded. "yea these are made in shienar to help train soldiers to maintain balance and endurance in suits of armor as well as a good way to build up the strength in the legs and arms. And yes, I am a son of a soldier. My father was a pretty strong warrior, but it was my eldest brother who taught me and trained me in the ways of the shield."

Belig took a good look at Llewelyn, noting that the weights seemed to be still pretty awkward. "You adapt pretty fast. The weights you chose probably are a bit too heavy and by far are two loose. How did you avoid falling over?"